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NASA likens Mars rover to Armstrong lunar landmark
by Staff Writers
Los Angeles (AFP) Aug 27, 2012


NASA beamed back more spectacular pictures from Mars on Monday -- and a first voice message -- likening it to the lunar landmark led by Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon who died last week.

In the audio message, broadcast from the surface of the Red Planet by the Curiosity Rover, NASA administrator Charles Bolden forecast that a manned mission to Mars could happen "in the not too distant future."

"Another small step has been taken extending the human presence beyond earth," said NASA expert Dave Lavery, echoing Armstrong's famous first words on the Moon in 1969.

Experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California released more pictures taken by the $2.5 billion rover, which landed at Gale Crater on the Red Planet on August 6.

One showed a panorama, in pin-sharp resolution showing individual rocks, of the landscape visible from the rover, including Mount Sharp, the slopes of which Curiosity plans to drive toward in the coming weeks and months.

Mission chief scientist John Grotzinger said the landscape looked like "something that comes out of a John Ford movie," referring to typical backdrop in films by the classic Western director.

And he compared the tire tracks made by Curiosity, visible in some of the photos, to images of the first footprints on the Moon made by Armstrong, whose death at 82 was announced by his family on Saturday.

"What we are seeing here is the results of tracks involving the first motions of the rover. I think instead of a human it's a robot pretty much doing the same thing," said Grotzinger.

In a pre-recorded voice message, uploaded to the rover before being beamed back to Earth, Bolden said he was "speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity rover which is now on the surface of Mars."

"Since the beginning of time, humankind's curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life new possibilities just beyond the horizon," he said, adding that the rover "prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future."

"This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy. Others have tried. Only America has fully succeeded," he added.

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Planet pop: NASA beams first song from Mars
Los Angeles (AFP) Aug 28, 2012 - NASA transmitted the first song to be broadcast from Mars on Tuesday, by Grammy-winning US musician will.i.am, as part of efforts to inspire young people to get interested in science.

"Reach for the Stars" was then beamed back by the Curiosity rover, which landed on the surface of the Red Planet earlier this month, to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

NASA staff clapped their hands and held their arms in the air, smiling and swaying to the rhythm during the slightly less scientific use of the rover's hi-tech equipment and communications ability.

"It seems surreal," the US rapper and actor said explaining how NASA administrator Charles Bolden had called him to suggest beaming a song back from Mars as part of educational outreach efforts by the US space agency.

The song -- with lyrics including "I know that Mars might be far, but baby it ain't really that far" -- involved a 40-piece orchestra including French horns, rather than a more modern electronically-generated sound.

The singer said he didn't "want to do a song that was done on a computer," given that it was going to be the first piece of music broadcast back to the Earth from Mars.

"I wanted to show human collaboration and have an orchestra there and something that would be timeless, and translated in different cultures, not have like a hip hop beat or a dance beat," he said.

"A lot of times ... people in my field aren't supposed to try to execute something classical, or orchestral, so I wanted to break that stigma," the 37-year-old -- real name William James Adams -- told a student audience.

The aim was to inspire young people like those at the NASA event, including some from Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles where the musician grew up, to take a greater interest in science.

NASA experts this week released more pictures taken by the $2.5 billion rover, which landed at Gale Crater on the Red Planet on August 6.

One showed a panorama, in pin-sharp resolution showing individual rocks, of the landscape visible from the rover, including Mount Sharp, the slopes of which Curiosity plans to drive toward in the coming weeks and months.



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MARSDAILY
Chemcam Laser First Analyzes Yield Beautiful Results
Los Alamos NM (SPX) Aug 24, 2012
Members of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover ChemCam team, including Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, squeezed in a little extra target practice after zapping the first fist-sized rock that was placed in the laser's crosshairs last weekend. Much to the delight of the scientific team, the laser instrument has fired nearly 500 shots so far that have produced strong, clear data ... read more


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